Jets wide receiver Joseph Collins returns to football camp years after dreaming of NFL

His dream began 18 years ago as a then wide-eyed 6-year-old — on the same site where Monday he was instructing kids half his size.

Joseph Collins was starstruck by NFL players reaching out and teaching him how to play football at the free camp on the Monterey Peninsula. It gave him a reason to believe.

"This is where it started for me,'' said Collins, a former Seaside High and Monterey Peninsula College football standout, who is now a receiver for the New York Jets.

While the name of the camp has changed, the same methods that introduced Collins to the game are being taught this week at the Ron Johnson-Anthony Toney Football Camp at MPC.

The 6-foot-3 Collins found himself posing for pictures on Monday with adults, signing autographs during a break for kids that have the same dream he possessed at that age.

"You got to give back,'' Collins said. "I want to be out here, giving feedback. I'm trying to be an inspiration to these kids. It's a big deal for these kids. That makes it a big deal for me.''

Collins appeared in his element working with youths throughout the day, providing encouragement with a larger-than-life smile that brightened a cloudy Monday.

"I like interacting with kids,'' said Collins, who spent the preseason with the Jets this past season before being released on the final cutdown day. "It's built in me. It's always something I've enjoyed.''

Re-signed in January by the Jets, Collins has had an entire offseason to learn the playbook and learn a new offensive system, becoming a player who's forcing the coaching staff to take note.

Having arrived after the Jets' first preseason game last year, Collins appeared in three preseason games, catching a pair of passes from Tim Tebow, who has since moved on to the New England Patriots.

"The first day I got there last year, I had to learn 100 plays,'' Collins said. "I have a much better understanding of the playbook this year. I'm more comfortable. I feel things have slowed down.''

Collins' tenure with the Jets last season lasted four weeks. This time he has spent the past four months with the Jets, participating in all the organized team activities and mini camps.

"Last year was an opportunity,'' Collins said. "This year is a better opportunity. I understand the mentality and the speed of the game. I've gotten a chance to make some plays.''

One of 14 receivers slated to be with the Jets when camp opens on July 21, Collins realizes there's an opening, as only Santonio Holmes is a lock to be on the opening day roster — if he's cleared to play after injuring his foot last year.

"Our receivers coach has reiterated to all of us that no one has a job,'' Collins said. "I think I've got their attention. Now I have to show them I deserve to be here.''

Collins, who scored 13 touchdowns on just 37 receptions at Seaside, felt like he had a productive camp with the Jets.

"I made a lot more plays than mistakes,'' said Collins, an all-conference receiver at MPC.

The road to the NFL has had its share of bumps for the 24-year-old, who has flown under the radar throughout his career.

"I've always been surrounded by a lot of talent,'' Collins said. "It's made me work harder. It's made me who I am."

Despite catching 61 passes for 1,068 yards and earning third team Football Championship Subdivision All-American honors at Weber State in 2010, the NFL locked out its players following the draft.

Collins wasn't drafted and could not be signed as an undrafted free agent until the labor dispute was solved. So he sat and waited for a call that never came.

"I never stopped training,'' Collins said. "I believed a call would come at some point."

And it did.

But it came a year later and a month into training camp. While the timing wasn't good, Collins made enough of an impression to be re-signed this past winter.

"Joseph is a humble kid that hasn't forgotten where he's come from,'' said camp coordinator and former Eagles receiver Ron Johnson, who has known Collins since he was 6.

There hasn't been a day since Collins got to New York that he hasn't looked at his playbook, which continues to grow with plays in the offseason.

"You can't go one day without looking at it,'' Collins said. "If you do, you'll fall behind. We're putting in more plays each day. I try and stay a day ahead.''

With his hair having grown some 6 inches outside his helmet, Collins nearly followed the lead of former Seaside teammate and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Mason Foster and cut it before having a change of heart.

"It's part of the uniform,'' said Collins, who has run a 4.44-second 40-yard dash. "Antonio Cromartie grabbed it the other day. But I couldn't do it. I'm just going to have to tie it together instead of letting float around."